Thursday, January 5, 2012

There is a belief among certain folks that what a person is experiencing at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve holds some sort of clue as to how the following year might unfold. I, myself, have beheld New Year's moments both divine and wretched get reflected in various ways in the course of the following year. As far as I'm concerned, those moments are just that, however, and don't necessitate the course of the entire year. If. however, they do still offer some clues as to how the next year might go, 2012 is looking golden as we had a marvelous evening at Paradise Playhouse Dinner Theater and Events Center.

This was the first NYE shindig for the re-opened dinner theater and they also hosted a silent auction that served as a benefit for the Downtown Excelsior Partnership; the downtown support system that also employs Keith. K and I helped out with the fund-raising portions of the evening; ensuring that the auction went smoothly as well as creating keepsake photos for attendees.

The night was very well-attended and the auction brought many a bid. Dinner was once again catered by Golden Ox and the delicious favorites were back: savory Chicken Piccata, succulent Prime Rib and that southwest-style pasta salad that I love. The absolute kick of the evening, however, was provided by the entertainment. Two gentleman of somewhat disparate performing styles had us in musical heaven all night.

Rudy Amato had us all swooning with his Sinatraesque crooning. He would channel Ol' Blue Eyes than smoothly transition to Dean Martin and much to my delight, slip in a little Moondance from Van Morrison. Once we were under a musical spell, we were then introduced to Spike Blake, who performs a dueling pianos-style show. Spike slowly brought us out of our reverie and had us dancing in the aisles. By the show's conclusion, he and Rudy were singing together and a fair portion of the crowd was partying and dancing on stage with the singers. It was clear that everyone was having a ball and the traditions were raucously intact...the countdown was called, glasses of bubbly were raised and the New Year was toasted in grand style.

New Years Eve at Paradise Playhouse was a hit in every way...the auction was a great success and everyone had a fantastic time. If the stroke of midnight is indeed an indication of how 2012 will go, its going to be a wonderfully entertaining and successful year for Paradise Playhouse and for those of us fortunate enough to be in attendance at their marvelous New Year's Eve party.

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